Five Methods of Breast Volume Measurement: A Comparative Study of Measurements of Specimen Volume in 30 Mastectomy Cases

Abstract

Background:To compare breast volume measurement techniques in terms of accuracy, convenience, and cost.Methods:Breast volumes of 30 patients who were scheduled to undergo total mastectomy surgery were measured preoperatively by using five different methods (mammography, anatomic [anthropometric], thermoplastic casting, the Archimedes procedure, and the Grossman-Roudner device). Specimen volume after total mastectomy was measured in each patient with the water displacement method (Archimedes). The results were compared statistically with the values obtained by the five different methods.Results:The mean mastectomy specimen volume was 623.5 (range 150–1490) mL. The breast volume values were established to be 615.7 mL (r = 0.997) with the mammographic method, 645.4 mL (r = 0.975) with the anthropometric method, 565.8 mL (r = 0.934) with the Grossman-Roudner device, 583.2 mL (r = 0.989) with the Archimedes procedure, and 544.7 mL (r = 0.94) with the casting technique. Examination of r values revealed that the most accurate method was mammography for all volume ranges, followed by the Archimedes method.Conclusion:The present study demonstrated that the most accurate method of breast volume measurement is mammography, followed by the Archimedes method. However, when patient comfort, ease of application, and cost were taken into consideration, the Grossman-Roudner device and anatomic measurement were relatively less expensive, and easier methods with an acceptable degree of accuracy.

Effects of Age, Breast Density and Volume on Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Retrospective Comparison of Sensitivity of Mammography and Ultrasonography in China's Rural Areas

“…Mammographic density of ACR levels 1-2 were defined as low density, and levels 3-4 were defined as high density. We measured the volume of the breast using the following formula proposed by Kalbhen et al (1999), which had been demonstrated in previous studies (Kayar et al, 2011): breast volume =π/4 ×(W×H×C), where W=breast width, H=breast height, and C=compression thickness in craniocaudal mammography. Breast width, height and compression thickness were all measured on the craniocaudal mammogram by the computer.…”

3D Modeling of Abdominal Surface Area in Cats

“…This method have the disadvantage of being very time-consuming, since it is necessary to carry out in each axial cut the boundary of the ROI in order to decrease the error. Today's medical software have tools which allow to avoid the delimitation in each cut, automatically completing the ROI, although associated with an increase of the error [38,39]. In addition to the fact that the division being time-consuming, shaping the .stl file of the ROI in CAD software also presents some difficulties.…”

Breast Volume estimation by Anthropometry

“…Hence, the most significant feature of this study was that the results of both anthropometric methods were compared with their respective mastectomy specimen volumes, which served as controls. There are only five studies that have been conducted with specimen volume as the control [3] .…”

“…Forward projection of nipple, measured in centimetres as distance between the sternum and a vertical flat surface touching the nipple, was taken as mammary projection. Volume of breast was calculated by following Anthropometric formulae:-1.Breast circumference based formula by Oteify et al [4] : • Volume = 0.973 (breast circumference in supine / 6.28) 3 • Volume = 1.193 (breast circumference in upright / 6.28) 3 2. Breast radius & projection based formula by Qiao et al [5] :…”

“…The main goal of aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery is to achieve these characteristics in a way to produce symmetry that satisfies the patient's wishes within the limits of technical feasibility, whilst matching the remaining breast in terms of its contour, dimension and position [2] . Breast volume measurement is of value for augmentation, reduction, oncoplastic and reconstructive procedures of breast including implant size determination [3] .…”